Tasty Tuesday

One of our most memorable events in second grade is always Tasty Tuesday. Once a month we follow a recipe to create a yummy snack, we snap a picture with it, then we write a review of our creations. We try to keep the recipes seasonal and we pose with some cute props.

It's such a fun way to work in all kinds of skills in math, writing, grammar, handwriting, following directions...just about everything you can think of! We save all of our writing samples from the year and put them together in a binder. We add an About the Chef page, a cute cover and a final review and it makes a great writing portfolio and memento of our year together!

Then at the end of the year, we invite the parents to our very last Tasty Tuesday. This day is a bit of work to set up, but so worth it in the end. The kids share their cookbook from the year and lead their parents through creating the recipe. I always love watching as the kids impress their parents with their independence! Then they enjoy the snack before writing the final review together. This is the best part! I love hearing them talk with their parents about different ways to describe the appearance, texture, and taste of the cookie. Last year, one dad didn't think I'd actually see the review and wrote from the teddy bear's point of view, mentioning how he had graham cracker sand in his shorts. He was embarrassed, but I thought it was pretty hysterical!

I put together a teacher guide with all of the recipes we use, detailed teacher notes with specific details on how to set up and run the program, recruit parent help, sign up forms, thank you notes, and more. You can see it on TpT HERE.

Hi Amanda, I think the part I love best is how independent they become. It's obvious some of the kids have never even used a plastic knife to spread something or used a big spoon to mix something. By the end, they're little professionals! I love how impressed the parents are with their new skills and the cookbook makes such a nice memento :)

I bought this a while ago, because I loved the idea -- I just hadn't gathered enough courage (energy) to try it out. This post has encouraged me and I'm jumping into the pool! :o) Thanks for always having such fabulous ideas! It's great whenever we can put the fun back into the fundamentals.